# The most famous paradoxes in history

From Achilles who never catches the tortoise to Schrödinger's cat, from the Cretan liar to the barber who doesn't know who shaves him: the paradoxes that drive philosophers and scientists mad. Which one is the most brilliant?

- 0 votes · 10 items
- Jun 16, 2022 · Stefano Pellegrino
- https://even.best/en/l/2631/the-most-famous-paradoxes-in-history

## Top 10

1. **Achilles and the tortoise** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Zeno: Achilles never catches the tortoise, because he must cover infinitely many stretches.
2. **The arrow** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Zeno: at every instant, the flying arrow is at rest.
3. **The dichotomy** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Zeno: to arrive you must first go halfway, then half of that, forever.
4. **The liar paradox** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Epimenides the Cretan says all Cretans are liars.
5. **The crocodile paradox** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The crocodile will return the child only if the mother guesses what it will do.
6. **The sorites paradox** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Taking away one grain at a time, when does it stop being a heap?
7. **The barber paradox** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The barber shaves everyone who doesn't shave themselves: so who shaves him?
8. **The grandfather paradox** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — If you go back in time and prevent your own birth, how did you go back?
9. **Catch-22** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — To be discharged you must be mad, but asking for it proves you are sane.
10. **Schrödinger's cat** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — A cat in a box, both alive and dead until someone looks.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.